370 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Report of a Tour of Inspection of Eu- 

 ropean Light-House Establishments, 

 made in 1783. By Major George H. 

 Elliot, Corps of Engineers U. S. A., 

 Engineer Secretary of the Light-House 

 Board. Washington : Government Print- 

 ing-Office, 1874. Pp. 288. 



This is a very complete account of an 

 inspection of the light-house systems of Eng- 

 land and Fiance, made by Major Elliot un- 

 der instructions from the Light-House Board, 

 and it is a work which will be of great value, 

 technically, to the engineer of light-houses, 

 besides being an extremely interesting re- 

 cital of the principal features of the Euro- 

 pean systems. Major Elliot's facilities for 

 observation seem to have been excellent, 

 and it is evident that the time at his dis- 

 posal was thoroughly utilized. From his 

 very clear report a lucid idea of the princi- 

 pal points of difference between transatlan- 

 tic systems of lighting and our own is ob- 

 tained ; and the book is profusely illustrated 

 with woodcuts and maps, which serve to 

 explain more fully the leading features of 

 each system. 



A very large number of the lights on the 

 North Sea and on the southwest coast of 

 England, as well as several of the more im- 

 portant lights of Ireland, were personally 

 visited and minutely inspected, and full de- 

 tails are furnished with regard to all im- 

 portant points. Minute accounts are given 

 of many of the newest and most approved 

 devices for increasing the effective power 

 of light-houses and light-ships, and the au- 

 thor has not hesitated to propose such 

 changes in our own light-house service as 

 his experience leads him to believe most 

 necessary. 



Besides devoting much attention to the 

 subject of illuminating apparatus for coasts, 

 Major Elliot has considered the question of 

 fog and danger signals, and has personally 

 seen many experiments on their relative effi- 

 ciency. The American steam-siren, now in 

 use on our own coasts as a fog-signal, Major 

 Elliot considers the best device for the pur- 

 pose ; and the Trinity House Board (in charge 

 of light-houses in England) has officially sig- 

 nified its concurrence in this opinion. Some 

 of the changes which he thinks should be 

 made are noted below, and his reasons for 

 advocating these changes seem to be en- 

 tirely satisfactory : 



(.) An increase in the illuminating pow- 

 er of our lamps : 



" While the power of our light-house 

 lamps is fixed (i. e., they give only the same 

 amount of light in foggy and thick weather 

 as in fair, in the long twilights of summer 

 as in the darkness of winter), the English 

 oil-lamps are flexible in power, and can be 

 varied by the keepers to suit the varying 

 conditions of the atmosphere. . . . The first- 

 order sea-coast lights of England may be 

 raised from an equivalent of 342 candles 

 (their minimum) to 722 candles, while the 

 maximum power of our first-order sea-coast 

 light is uniformly the equivalent of only 210 

 candles." 



(b.) The adoption of mineral oil, instead 

 of animal or vegetable oils : 



" It is more cleanly than the lard-oil con- 

 sumed in our light-houses ; it is not inju- 

 riously affected by the severest cold ; the 

 lamps are more easily lighted, and do not 

 require to be trimmed during the longest 

 nights, thus making commerce less depend- 

 ent on the watchfulness of the keepers ; 

 while its cost is but little more than one- 

 third of that of the latter oils." 



(d.) The establishment of gas or electric 

 lights at important points on our coast. 

 Major Elliot mentions a light-house of this 

 character in England which gives a con- 

 densed beam of light equal to more than 

 800,000 candles, while our own light-houses 

 can only give the equivalent of a little over 

 200! 







(i.) The adoption of a new method of ap- 

 pointing and promoting light-house keepers : 



" The rules of the European light-house 

 establishments in regard to the appointment 

 and promotion of keepers, on whom the 

 utility of light-houses and the safety of life 

 and property so largely depend, are fully de- 

 scribed in the report, and the facts are noted 

 that for each light the number of keepers is 

 smaller than in our service ; that they are 

 furnished with circulating libraries ; that 

 their pride in their profession is stimulated 

 by being furnished with a handsome uni- 

 form dress ; that they are promoted for 

 merit ; that they are educated with care for 

 the management of lights before they are 

 intrusted with the charge of them ; that their 

 lives are insured for the benefit of their fam- 

 ilies, and that they are pensioned when su- 

 perannuated ; none of which obtain in our 

 own service." 



